'Truly astonishing' singer returns

Having your debut full-length album reach number 20 in the US radio charts might make any up-and-coming musician get carried away. But one Melbourne artist has taken such American success in her stride and is looking forward to playing in Euroa this Sunday 22 March on her eastern seaboard tour of performances in community and private gardens. Anna Smyrk remains grounded, as was evident when she told this masthead that the satisfaction of such success was a nice reward for the amount of time that went into the album Spectacular Denial, which launches in Australia this Friday 20 March, having already been released stateside. “Yes, it sure feels really good and it’s exciting,” Smyrk said. “But it’s a funny thing when you make an album; it is a really long process because those songs were written quite a few years ago, and the album itself recorded at the end of 2024. “I have released a lot of work before, but this is the first full length album, and with an album you can go into a lot more depth.” A great deal of depth came with the passing of Anna Smyrk’s father while writing the songs, and much of that can be heard in the album’s tracks, of note The song ‘Garden-Variety Grief’, with lyrics such as: It’s some kind of sweet sorcery / Though the weight only grows / You’re lifting more and more each week / You get stronger to carry the load The song also has gritty electric guitar work – she is on rhythm guitar – giving the lyrics’ emotion that extra punch. “Garden-Variety Grief is thinking about my own experience at my father’s passing and processing that – something I am still doing after a long time. “The song is about how we are all carrying this hard stuff but somehow we keep going, and that’s something to be acknowledged.” Praise has come from afar: Rolling Stone said the indie-folk artist was ‘truly astonishing’ as she toured the US, Canada, and Sweden, and backing world-renowned stars such as Batchelor Girl on tour brought with it a strong sense of support between artists. “Batchelor Girl were very, very welcoming and generous," Smyrk said. “I am getting to find there is a lot of camaraderie between music artists because they were once themselves the little guy opening someone else’s show. “Musicians might sometimes get a bad rap, but there are so many wonderful people I have worked with.” Sunday’s performance will be staged in the Yirro Community Garden in Brock Street, a choice made from the singer/songwriter’s purpose to her songs and is a continuation of her extended tour with a gardening twist that's gone from Brisbane to Melbourne and back. “I just want to find a way to bring these shows into a different space,” she said. “A space that's open to the hard stuff and the lighter stuff. “There's some heavy stuff in there, in the album, but there's fun too. “It will be music, nature, and community – bringing them all together." The Garden-Variety Tour Sunday 22 March, 2pm Yiiro Community Garden 29A Brock Street, Euroa Free entry Bring a picnic and rug or folding chair